Paul Davis

Opposition boss Phil Brown has admitted his side couldn’t handle the Rotherham United onslaught as they crashed to a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Millers.

Rotherham ran riot in the first half against Southend United at AESSEAL New York Stadium on Saturday to rack up a 4-0 interval lead, prompting the Shrimpers manager to say he was embarrassed by the gulf between the two teams.

Hat-trick man Kieffer Moore

“Everything about them took the game into our half and we couldn’t deal with it,” he said. “It was a reasonable scoreline for them, to tell the truth. It could have been more. It was embarrassing.”

Striker Kieffer Moore bagged a first-half hat-trick and there were goals for Joe Newell and Ryan Williams as Paul Warne’s men came good in their first home match of the League One campaign.

Brown, who called in his players for 7am Sunday training, added: “”It was a great performance by Rotherham. They were first class and we couldn’t deal with them.

“It was a poor performance from us from start to finish. Everything went wrong and it’s back to the drawing board. The manner of the defeat was totally unacceptable.”

Moore’s hat-trick was the first by a Millers player since Kieran Agard struck three times in the 6-4 defeat at Wolves in April 2014 and the first in a home game since Adam Le Fondre scored four times in a 6-4 win against Cheltenham in August 2010.

Warne, meanwhile, has passed up on the chance to sign trialist centre-half Manny Onariase on loan and allowed him to return to Brentford even though the 20-year-old impressed during a week’s training with Rotherham.

“I would consider signing him permanently but I won’t take him on loan because I can’t guarantee him any minutes on the pitch,” the manager said.

“He was brilliant in training. He is everything I want. But my two centre-halves are doing really well so I’d be lying if I told him he’d get games.

“He’s gone back to Brentford. I’d like to see him again. I don’t know if it will be before the window shuts. We will have to see. I think he enjoyed it and I think he would like to stay, but I can’t sign players and promise them what I can’t deliver.”

Warne was understandably delighted by the Millers’ attacking prowess. Although he acknowledges there is still much for them to work on, he will continue to encourage them to go forward.

“I like to press high up the pitch. If you win the ball high up the pitch, you give yourself a chance to score,” he said.

“I understand that you might be vulnerable to the counter-attack but the reason I assembled the team the way I did was to get pace into defence to get us out of trouble if we are caught high up the pitch.

“The front six have free rein to go for it. All in all, I would say that is how I want to play.”